Santa Isn't Coming
by Master thief Gray Shadow
Summary: When Maki's world is shattered, it falls to Nico to pick up the pieces.


"Hand me a label, dear."

A sheet of snowflake-patterned stickers was passed between the couple as they sat in the den, wrapping presents and making minimal conversation. The man peeled a sticker off of the sheet and stuck it on a red-wrapped box. He picked up a felt pen lying next to him and nearly put the tip to the label. "Left hand, honey," His wife reminded him.

"Yes. Of course," He said as he shifted the pen to his left hand. He slowly and carefully wrote something on the label. "From…Santa…Claus," He muttered as he wrote. He placed the present in a pile of already wrapped gifts and sighed heavily. "I can't believe we still do this," He said, rubbing his temples.

"She'd be terribly upset if we didn't," The woman said in response. The man grabbed another gift, a jewelry box, and placed it in the center of a sheet of wrapping paper.

"It's the principle of the thing," He elaborated as he began to carefully wrap the box. "She's in her second year of high school now. Most kids stop believing in Santa when they go into middle school."

"That's usually because their parents tell them around that age," She replied while tying a bow around the neck of a stuffed leopard. "You opted not to tell her. You said she was smart enough to figure it out."

The man slowly signed the gift with his left hand and placed it in the pile. He exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down. "She is smart enough," He said, turning to face his wife. "She would figure it out if we would stop saying that the presents were from Santa."

"And if we stopped you think she'd just know suddenly?" She asked, her voice now laced with concern. "Honey, she'd be devastated. She'd think she's done something wrong."

"She should be able to figure it out!" The man responded, his voice raised. He had now given up any attempts to control himself. He stood up quickly. "My daughter is smart enough to know that there is. No. Santa Claus!" The outburst seemed to echo for a few moments, sinking into the minds of those who heard it. The woman stood up and walked over to her husband, placing her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. "Honey…"

"Is…is that true?" A new voice caught their attention. The couple turned to see their daughter standing in the doorway. On her face was an expression of sheer betrayal. She was biting her lip so intensely, probably to keep herself from crying, although it didn't seem to be doing much. Tears were already forming in the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall. The silence in the room was deafening. It was the father who broke the silence.

"Yes. It's true." He turns to face her. "Santa Claus isn't real. I'm sorry, Maki." Maki sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

"Papa…Mama…" She said softly. The hurt was obvious in her trembling voice.

"Maki," Her mother said, wrapping her daughter in a tight hug. Maki buried her face in her mother's shoulder, weeping softly. "Shhh…I'm still here," She said as she gently stroked her back.

Maki's father watched as his wife comforted their crying daughter. His normal neutral expression now had the slightest hint of concern. Christmas in the Nishikino household had never been easy, but it looked like this year was going to be especially difficult.

* * *

"Hey, Rin-chan."

"Nya? What's up, Kayo-chin?"

"Is it just me or does Maki-chan seem…" Hanayo paused, seemingly searching for the right descriptive words. "…Out of it?"

Rin and Hanayo glanced over at where Maki sat. Her chin rested in her hand as she seemed to stare off into the distance. Her expression seemed softer, more sad than her usual haughty scowl.

"Hm…You're right, nya," Rin said as she thoughtfully placed a hand on her chin. "She seems almost…mar…marlin…" Rin struggled with the word for a moment.

"Melancholic?" Hanayo suggested.

"Yeah, that. Meloncowlick," Rin said. "Think we should talk to her, nya?"

Hanayo nodded. The pair got up from their seats and walked over toward their friend. As they approached, she spoke.

"Is it true?"

They both paused. "Is what true, Maki-chan?" Hanayo asked.

Maki turned her head to face them. "That he's not real…that Santa isn't real?" She looked up at them. Her normally sharp eyes seemed dull. Rin and Hanayo looked at each other, unspoken concern communicated between them.

"So," Hanayo said after a moment, "you found out." Maki nodded weakly.

"Must've been a real shock, nya," Rin said and patted Maki on the shoulder. "We're here if you need anything."

"Thanks," Maki sighed before going back to staring off into the distance. "But still," She said wistfully, "what's the point of Christmas if Santa never comes?"

"Well, most people spend Christmas with someone special to them," Hanayo mused. Maki didn't hear her, having returned to tuning out the world.

"Someone special…nya…" Rin said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. Her eyes then widened and she leapt up in excitement. "Kayo-chin!" She exclaimed. "I just had a great idea!"

* * *

"This had better be really important," Nico growled as she took a sip of her latte. "The damn professor wants an 8-page essay on the Strasberg approach by the twenty-sixth and I've only written one paragraph."

She sat with Hanayo and Rin inside of a brightly lit café. The other two occupants at the table glanced at each other before looking back to Nico. Hanayo shifted for a moment, looking for the right words to explain the circumstances. Rin just blurted out.

"Apparently Maki-chan found out Santa isn't real, nya," She said.

Nico took another sip of her drink. "Well, it's about time," She said. "Honestly, what self-respecting teenager still-"

"Nico-chan," Hanayo interrupted, "she's upset."

Nico paused, her drink inches from her lips. "What do you mean by upset?"

"She's like, spacing out, nya," Rin said. "She won't talk to people and she just seems really distracted."

"Okay…" Nico said, scratching her head. "And you called me here about this because…"

"Because she needs you," Hanayo answered.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "How does she need me?"

"She needs to be with someone she loves," Rin responded, "So we need you to go on a romantic date with her on Christmas Eve, nya!"

Silence. The three girls could only stare at one another, waiting for someone to respond. Then Nico set her drink down. As she did she let out a short, deep chuckle. Followed by another. Then another. Soon the chuckles became full-on laughs, and her laughter increased in intensity until she was hunched over, clutching her stomach and laughing hysterically.

"Um…Nico-chan?" Hanayo asked, concerned. She glanced around to see that other people in the café were staring.

Nico wiped tears away from her eyes. "Ahaha! Hahaha…ha…" Nico's face then fell rapidly. "Hell no."

"What?" Rin and Hanayo yelled at the same time. "Why?"

"Because," Nico said, "it's improper for a super idol such as myself to go on date with anyone, especially another girl."

A look of disappointment crossed the other girls' faces. They almost looked like they were going to cry. Nico felt her heart twinge slightly.

"Buuuuuut," Nico continued, "because I'm so nice, I'll figure something out."

"You will? Really?" Hanayo gasped in excitement.

"Of course!" Nico responded, her chest puffed out with pride. "It's only the job of Super Idol Nico-Nii to bring smiles to those who need them!"

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Both Hanayo and Rin beamed with happiness. Rin got up and ran over to Nico, hugging her tightly.

"Please, give Maki-chan the best Christmas ever, nya!" Rin said as she squeezed Nico tighter.

"Can't…breathe…" Nico said as she struggled against Rin.

* * *

The girls eventually parted ways, and Nico found herself wandering the streets of Akiba, eventually finding herself inside a mall.

 _Nice going Nico_ , she thought as she strolled with no direction, _You just promised you'd give up your Christmas Eve to go entertain the spoiled rich girl_. Nico walked up to random window, observing the clothes on display. Warm and seasonally appropriate, yet still highly fashionable. One mannequin wore a beautiful dark red overcoat, a regal fur trim lining the collar. The one next to it was wearing a puffy pink winter coat, with a knit pink pom-pom hat placed on its head. _Maybe I should take her on a date on Christmas Eve_ , she thought, eyeing the outfits. She tore her eyes away and continued walking. _No_ , she thought again and shook her head. _It's not worth it. Besides, it's not like she'd actually say yes…_

She continued to walk at a casual pace, peeking in to window shop every so often. As she wandered she noticed some commotion going on over in one corner of the mall. She went to take a closer look, and saw a man dressed as Santa Claus letting children sit on his lap and take pictures with them. _How quaint_ , she thought. But as she watched the man cheerfully greet the children, an idea formed in her head. She mulled it over for a bit before something in a window. It stood out vastly from the other objects on display. She smirked as she walked into the store at a steady, confident pace. _I hope Kotori doesn't mind me paying her a visit later_ , she thought.

* * *

Maki lay awake. The revelations of the past few days weighed heavy on her mind. This was the first time she hadn't gone right to sleep on Christmas Eve. She stared up at the ceiling. Every year for as long as she could remember she had gone fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, knowing that if she didn't she might not find any presents under the tree. But if Santa wasn't the one putting the presents there in the first place then she didn't need to bother. What was the point? She was too stressed to sleep anyway. The house was dead quiet, leaving her very much alone with her thoughts. She rolled over into a slightly more comfortable position and sighed softly. She lay quietly for a few more minutes when a sudden noise caught her attention. It sounded like…yelling?

Maki shot up. The voice sounded slightly familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She slid out of her bed and moved towards her door. She poked her head out and listened closely. She couldn't hear any words, but she thought she heard faint groaning coming from downstairs. She quietly tiptoed towards the noise, which seemed to be coming from the den. She slid the door open slightly and peeked inside, and was more than slightly confused about what she found inside.

"Nico-chan, what are you doing in my house? And why are you dressed like that?" Nico was lying on the floor and clutching her knee in pain. She was wearing a puffy red coat with a white trim and a matching hat, as well as a fake beard. A Santa outfit. She got up slowly, rubbing her knee, and looked over at Maki.

"Shhh, go back to bed!" She said as she grabbed a gift that had fallen onto the floor in the confusion and hid it behind her back.

"Nico-chan, please tell me what the hell is going on," Maki said as she walked over to the smaller girl. "How did you get into my house?"

"Your mom gave me a key, remember?" Nico reminded.

"Oh. That makes sense," Maki said. She then focused her attention on the gift Nico was trying so hard to hide. "What's that you've got behind your back?"

"Nothing!" Nico sputtered. Maki glared at her. There was a long silence, and then Nico spoke up softly. "It's…it's a present. From Santa."

Maki exhaled loudly. "Santa isn't real. I know that now," She said.

"I know you know," Nico said. "That's why I thought you might still like getting a present that was supposed to be from him. You'd still have a little magic on Christmas."

"…" Maki was silent for a moment, still looking down at Nico. After a minute she finally spoke. "Can I…can I open it now?" She asked, hopeful.

Nico looked away. "I mean, I guess…" She said, handing the gift to Maki without looking at her. Maki sat down and examined the present. It was flat and medium sized, wrapped in shiny red wrapping paper and tied with a red ribbon. She carefully undid the ribbon and cautiously removed the wrapping. What remained was a plain white box. _Clothes?_ Maki thought. She lifted the lid and her expression immediately became one of confusion.

"Nico-chan…" She began.

"L-look, I just saw it and I thought of you, okay?" Nico said, blushing.

"Nico-chan, what is this?" Maki questioned. As she did she held up the gift: a piano-key necktie.

"I know it's a bit tacky, but I figured…" Nico started.

"Nico-chan," Maki interrupted. She placed the tie back in the box and got up. She walked over to Nico and took lifted her chin.

It took Nico a moment to realize that Maki was kissing her. At first she was more than a little shocked, but she soon started to enjoy it. Maki's lips were soft and slightly sweet, and Nico found herself getting really into the kiss. She nibbled on Maki's lower lip, and she responded with a light whimper. Nico was actually pretty disappointed when she finally pulled away.

"…Thank you," She said almost breathlessly.

"You're welcome," Nico said. They stood for a moment before Nico turned to leave.

"Wait," Maki said. "Can you stay?"

Nico paused and looked back at Maki. She almost looked sad. Well, no one deserved to be alone on Christmas Eve.

"I guess I can stay."

* * *

As on most mornings, Mr. Nishikino rose early. He was slightly disappointed to find that his wife was not in the bed with him, but that wasn't unusual either. He quietly found his way to his daughter's room and knocked. When no answer greeted him, he called out for her. She didn't respond. He finally opened the door, only to find the room empty. Confused, he headed downstairs to find his wife sitting in front of the room to the den. She was smiling broadly, deeply amused by something.

"Dear, what are you doing?" He asked. She put a finger to her lips.

"Look," She whispered, pointing to the door. He shrugged before moving quietly towards the door, which was open just a crack. He glanced in and what he saw caused the corners of his mouth to be tugged upward ever so slightly.

Maki was fast asleep on the couch, her expression calm and blissful. Also of note was the… _interesting_ necktie she was wearing, as well as the fact that another girl, who he recognized as an old classmate of his daughter's, was sleeping next to her, dressed, inexplicably, in a Santa suit. They seemed completely content, leaning into each other comfortably as the morning's first rays shone down on them.

He looked over to his wife, who just beamed at him. _Well,_ he thought, _looks like we might have a merry Christmas after all_.

* * *

Oh god I am so sorry for writing such an awful excuse for a Christmas special. I have never written hurt/comfort in my life and it fucking shows. Fuck. Um...merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, splendid Saturnalia, whatever you're celebrating, have a good time, and a great 2017.


End file.
